I’m Back!

Sometimes I wait to post on here because I don’t feel like I have epic enough things to inform the world about, but I’m realizing that the more I put off posting the easier it gets to avoid it all together. So its time I posted something!

 

I’m alive! Thats a big deal considering how small and weak we are as humans beings, and the things I like to do. (=

 

Its winter in Jackson and that means that I’v been on the tips of the earth playing in the snow! I’m working again as a snowboard instructor, here in Jackson this time. I start training tomorrow morning. I’m excited about the opportunities here, I have met several of my coworkers and started some good relationships. I can tell already that God has me right where He wants me, because its been hard and scary already. Rumor on the mountain is that I’m the one and only experienced new-hire that made it on this season! The Lord is good and gracious.

 

I decided that hiking mountains and snowboarding wasn’t enough workout for my legs, so I joined an indoor soccer team. Its fun! Next time I see you guys, my legs will be bigger than my waist, so thats cool!

 

I’m now an ambassador for three companies this winter. this doesn’t mean that I get paid, but I do get free stuff. Not the highest calling but has been fun for this winter.

 

Still praying a lot about what God has for me in the next year or two, I’m still in that place were things could change drastically, and at some point probably need to. I’m really loving the things I get to do and experience right now, but realize that this probably isn’t going to be my life forever.

 

The few things that I know will be in my life forever; Being a part of the body of Christ (church), Serving, Loving people like Christ did, Worshiping my Creator. Other than those things nothing is really certain and thats a cool place to be!!!

 

Miss all of you, if you took the time to read this then I probably miss you.

 

Thursday Evening

Trying to be better at keeping people updated on my life and post my thoughts… so I decided that I need to just start tonight by listing what I’m doing at the moment.

 

Just cooked a steak with mushrooms, drank some root beer and talked to my roommate Johnnyboi, Took a shower to wash off all the dirt from planting and mulching 14 trees at work today, decided to watch a movie with the roommates while eating ice cream topped with ground coffee, then decided to go pick up a couch that we had seen on the side of the road… only problem was it didn’t fit in my subaru, so we had to put it on top of the car! Sometimes its really nice to just have a chill evening. Now tomorrow I should probably get some important things done!

 

Good, full and eventful evening. I guess its time for bed. Last day of work before a weekend!!!

 

Sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite!

 

Jesse

 

What do you cheer for?

What do we spend our lives cheering for? Tonight Jackson’s hole is echoing with the cheers of the rodeo crowd that gathers every Saturday night. Think of the scenes in the movies Gladiator and Brave Heart where the enemy’s yells and cheers echo over the hilltops and through the woods, thats what tonight’s cheering reminds me of! Startling at first to hear so many people filling an entire valley with there voices of praise. We cheer because we like something or are so stoked we can’t hold it in right? This makes me think of the things that I like to join with people to cheer for; Soccer games, World Cup, The Olympics, Concerts, Snowboarding.

 

Its interesting to think about the things that we take time to cheer for. I found myself thinking; why would people cheer so loud for a rodeo! Kinda seems useless to me! Then I realized how easy it is to have that point of view when something isn’t up-your-alley. My cheering is just as useless as theirs is on an eternal scale. What is God’s view of cheering? He watches the things I cheer for and is probably stoked that we enjoy his creation and bodies he has given us, but how it must greave him that we don’t have the same attitude or emphasis on cheering and yelling his truth to those around us as we do for the things he has given us. I have so far to go in my understanding of truly cheering for my Savior!

“God did not say; “Taste and see that what I have given you are good.” But rather; “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” –Eric Davis

What’s in the way of Surrender?

“The devil loves it when we say we believe then prioritize everything in our lives ahead of God.”  –AW Tozer

What is getting in the way?

So many things distract me from my commitment to God. As a believer, as a Christian I made a commitment to put Christ first in my life didn’t I? I said I would surrendered  my life! What does that really look like? Why does the definition of surrender look different from how I live my life?

“Surrender” according to the dictionary;

• “Abandon oneself entirely to an influence.”
• “Cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.”

What are those things that are getting in the way? What are the things that I prioritize ahead of my relationship with the God of the universe? So many times I have a desire to spend time with my God by reading, praying and studying but even in those moments things of this life get in the way and distract me! I can’t count the number of times I have opened my computer as a study tool and been distracted by Facebook, sports updates, music, movies, youtube, even blogs! I could even argue that right now at this very moment I’m avoiding study and time with my God, by being hip and informing my peeps about my struggles with sin. Oh how much easier and fun it is to be a hip/pop Christian posting on Twitter and blogs than it is to be faithful in my relationship with the worthy One. I’m being convicted even as I write…. You know the feeling when you realize you let someone down? Thats where Im at, and I pray you would be too. I’v let the most worthy friend down, the friend that won’t ever let me down.(Heb 13:5, Matt 28:20b) I’v failed by prioritizing other things in my life over the relationship that I made a commitment to. How long will I/we prioritize other things over the only relationship we really need? I pray we would start to remember the commitment we made to surrender all we have to the only One that offers us things better than this life.

While my understanding is growing of what it looks like to have nothing but Christ, I am struggling with this hard core… I love stuff, and my life. How do I live in the U.S. have a job, career, hobbies, goals and friends yet still count it all as loss in the shadow of Christ? How do I have life goals and seek for a debt free lifestyle without making that my life focus? Is security something Christ has for us as believers? or are we to live paycheck-to-paycheck? From the way things are going this is going to be a life long struggle for me, I just pray that I will continue to grow in my understanding and ability to surrender the things of this life.

The only way I can learn to die to the things my flesh desires is to give up and call on Christ. Dig deep into the word, spend my moments of free time talking with God. Asking for grace, commitment, and discipline. Wanna join me? Lets chat about this? Is there is a balance, or is that American Christianity?

As you can see I’m in the middle of this struggle, the questions and thoughts could go all day. Hope this helps you think through your lifestyle; biblical or not.

Francis Chan has a challenging view on how we are to live based on Prov 30: 7-9 Check it out;

http://youtu.be/E2oi6y292kE

-Jesse

The 4th!!!

Life has been busy! As you can tell by this post… I decided I should post a little comment and video from the 4th of July because it was such an experience this year. Jackson Hole’s firework show is so awesome that people started staking out their claimed areas in the baseball field below SnowKing Resort at 9:00 am!!! I was shocked as I watched from my deck, people were running around and throwing out blankets before breakfast! The house I live in “The Man Pad” is right next to the resort so we decided to carry one of our brightly 70’s colored couches onto the field, so we could watch the show in style. We were soon the most envied people on the entire field. Next year we are expecting to see at least a handful of couches at the show… by peoples reactions we might have started something in Jackson!

Besides the most awesome and comfortable seating ever, the show was pretty epic! I have never been so close to the fireworks that I have had to pull pieces of fireworks out of your eyes afterwards!!! The show lasted for 25 minutes with a great finale. enough talk about it. Check out this video of the finale that my buddy posted. Happy late 4th to everyone.

(copy and past into browser)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1961107740891

-Jesse

Yeah Jackson.

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. Life is busy but good! I think I’ll fill ya’ll in on some of the stuff I have been doing recently.

Last week I did my first whitewater tour down the Snake River, flowing at 23,000 cubic feet per second!!! More the twice its normal amount. You know the water is high and fast when a live tree is floats past your boat! It was a great time hitting the rapids with some of the guys in the church, only one dude fell out but was hauled back into the boat after a short dunking. The final a biggest rapid named cottonwood hit me so hard that I was slammed into the guy behind me and then fell into the bottom of the boat. Overall it was hectic, rowdy and totally worth it!!! Check out our pictures on this link. Welcome to ElevationImaging.com – Eye Select Online Studio

Church has been awesome. The body has grown to a consistent 70 and pushes 80 on a regular basis, God is faithful to grow his church. I’m so blessed to be apart of a body that understands biblical theology and strives to live it out, if the bible says it we do it right? Our smaller groups that meet mid week to live out church 24/7 have been studying “The Story” or the gospel read as a story. By studying straight through the bible without looking ahead and trying to understand and interact fully with the power of what was unfolding through the “story” of God. This study has been vital to how I understand and live out my faith. I’m also learning how important it is to be fully plugged into a body. This week alone I have had discipleship meetings, service opportunities, confessed sin to brothers, worshiped and shared a meal with the body!!! What a great week of living in Gods ongoing Story!

 

We started working four ten hour days now, its long but the three day weekend is worth it.

The craziest thing happened today: I was mowing this guys lawnand I saw a shadow cross the house really fast, I thought it was a cloud but was surprised at how fast it was moving, so I looked up and didn’t see anything. So I kept mowing just as I was turning my riding lawn mower around I almost got hit by the owner of the house parachuting into his own yard, just 10 feet above my head. He landed gave me a nod and walked into the house for dinner! Yeah Jackson!

 

Well that is a short update on my life here in Jackson… so much more has been happening, so I’ll try to keep you updated on here regularly from now on! Have a great week all! Yeah Jackson.

 

Jesse

Saturday Morning Thoughts

Its a rainy Saturday morning here in Jackson, I’m waiting for the call into work, whenever this rain stops! I’m working Landscaping in and around Jackson Hole for one of  30 landscape companies that service this little money bloated town. After a work week filled with; cutting trees, filling landscapes, digging holes and planting trees. I realized that I have never seen so  many prayer flags in a single week. I’m going to take a guess and say that over 15 houses I was at this week had prayer flags up in the windows or hanging in the front yard. This is a decent picture into the culture, beliefs and lifestyle of people here in Jackson. There is a very high level of Eastern religion mixed with self reliance and experience oriented beliefs.

As I think about my life here in Jackson Hole I find myself in a weird limbo between fitting in and being completely different. What is it that makes me fit in so well here in Jackson? Well I drive a subaru the most registered car in the state of Wyoming, I love beanies and a good fleece, I ski and snowboard, I put stickers on things, I play frisbee, I hike and climb, I longboard, and I wasn’t born here.

What makes me so different from this town? It goes like this; I am not searching for truth, I found it already, I don’t find hope in “stuff”, I know who made this playground; Jesus Christ, I don’t put prayers on flags, I deliver them personally!!!

These are the things that constantly remind me of the state that this world is in, and the reason for my move to Jackson Hole. Pray that my true identity would be found in Christ and not the things of Jackson Hole! We must denying ourselves daily to display Christ and bring others in!

 

-Jesse

 

Things are changing here in Jackson! The sun is hot and staying around more often, Tourists are everywhere, bikers have taken over the roads and paths, the mountains are filled with hikers, there are leaves on the trees and summer ministry is in full swing.

Here are a few pictures from the past week!

Get um while their hot!

My Room…

Check out a little tour of my room;

I have a mailing address!!!

P.O. Box 8068

Jackson, WY 83002